You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people to get what they want.

Zig Ziglar, American author and speaker

In the previous chapter we saw how to scale up what you offer to get paid to play full time. So is it possible to get rich from playing? This chapter will help you work out what rich actually means to you and get you a little closer to it sooner than you might think.

There are plenty of players that have turned their experimental projects into million-selling businesses. Derek Sivers turned fiddling around on the web to sell his own music into a business that made over $100 million in sales. Leslie Scott turned a game using her baby brother’s wooden blocks into one of the world’s best-selling games. Mike Southon is a serial entrepreneur of 17 start-ups, now a mentor for other entrepreneurs, and delivers over a hundred presentations every year, all over the world. And despite the long hours he says ‘it doesn’t feel like work at all, it’s all play’.

The principle here is to create wealth from providing genuine value to the world. When you have proven that you can do that in a repeatable way as shown in the preceding chapters, the challenge then becomes how to scale up to provide more value to more people.

If you think getting rich is all about profit at any cost, you’re choosing the wrong role models. When your wealth is based on providing real value, everybody wins. Getting richer goes hand in hand with extending the positive impact you are having. As Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently told New Yorker writer Ken Auletta, ‘The goal of the company is not to monetize anything, the goal is to change the world – and monetization is a technique to do that.’

Players are driven by what they want to create as much as anything else. As Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop, once said, ‘Entrepreneurs want to create a livelihood from an idea that has obsessed them. Money will grease the wheels, but becoming a millionaire is not the aim of the true entrepreneur. In fact, most entrepreneurs I know don’t give a damn about the accumulation of money. What gets their juices going is seeing how far an idea can go.’ Ironically it’s exactly this attitude that often leads to the greatest financial rewards. As Apple CEO Steve Jobs once said, ‘I was worth about over a million dollars when I was twenty-three and over ten million dollars when I was twenty-four, and over a hundred million dollars when I was twenty-five and it wasn’t that important because I never did it for the money.’

Creating real wealth from your play takes plenty of time and effort but if you master the following five keys, you should make the journey a little smoother and a little shorter.

1. Create your vision of the rich life

What does ‘rich’ actually mean to you? You might be thinking of a certain amount of money but in fact isn’t it really about experiencing a different kind of lifestyle, a rich life? Think about what your rich life would look like. What would be different for you? What would you own? What are the experiences you would like wealth to provide for you? Write it down in your playbook and find images to represent it. Putting your focus on the experience rather than a number allows you to find creative ways to get what you want sooner. If you want to have a mansion in France, you might find a way to have at least some of that experience very soon without becoming a millionaire. Perhaps you could find someone who’s willing to rent out a house to you in exchange for decorating it, or you could rent the house to run a workshop or conference in and so have other people pay you to be there.

Don’t put off your happiness until you reach your financial goals. Savour moments in your life that represent what you want more of. Recently I found myself having lunch with a friend outside a Thai restaurant in the London sunshine. As we sipped lemongrass tea and discussed her imminent move to America to further her acting, the conversation turned to money and doing what you love. I said that I was feeling rich right then – because if I had a million pounds in the bank, I wouldn’t choose to be doing anything different. I’d still be sitting with some good company eating tasty Thai food in the sunshine. So you could say that I am already rich (and the whole experience only cost us £15 each).

Catch yourself feeling rich. Notice those moments when there is nothing else you need, nowhere else you should be, and no one else you would rather be with because in that moment, you too are already rich.

If you can’t enjoy what you have, you can’t enjoy more of it.

Richard Bandler, co-creator of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)

If you can’t appreciate the rich moments you are having right now, you might discover you won’t be able to appreciate it if and when you really do achieve your financial dreams. We’ve all seen the millionaires who just can’t stop; however much money they get, whatever they buy, they’re never satisfied. That’s not happiness.

And of course the other reason to appreciate how rich you already are is because it tends to attract more of the same, which means you’ll realise those financial dreams all the sooner. People like to hang out with happy people and they like to hire those who look like they’re thriving. In fact the less you look like you need the work and the less available you appear to be, the more people want you – they assume you must be good!

Is your rich life about the freedom to travel?

Would you like to live somewhere sunnier or be free to travel anywhere in the world? Why not start now? Since it’s now possible to run a business with nothing more than a phone, a laptop, and an internet connection, do you really need to stay in the country? How would you like to travel the world and still make a living? Join the new tribe of location-independent entrepreneurs who travel the world while running their businesses from a laptop.

Look at chrisguillebeau.com and Lea Woodward’s location-independent.com to find tips on how to get paid while travelling the world.

Is your rich life about free time?

Tom Hodgkinson is editor of bi-annual magazine The Idler and is author of several books including How to be Idle and How to be Free. I interviewed him about the working life he has created and he explained that he works from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., concentrating on writing, then checks his emails before taking the rest of the afternoon off. He’s free then to have lunch, read, take a nap, go for a walk, play his ukelele, or do some gardening. Instead of working relentlessly to get rich, Tom is happy to settle on a medium-level income and advocates thrift, ‘cutting out any expense you don’t really need. Your children will think you’re really mean but you’ll end up having more time to play cards with them.’

If your vision of a rich life is about plenty of free time and relaxation rather than yachts and mansions, you can choose to structure your life accordingly. And when you start really enjoying your day-to-day life, you might find you no longer need to spend so much money on the things you used to buy to compensate for being miserable at work. When I added it up, I was shocked to realise that when I was working in a corporation, I was spending several hundred pounds a year on cappuccinos – just to get me through the day.

Is your rich life about the power to change the world?

If so, the model for you may be to create a social enterprise: an organisation that applies commercial strategies to achieve a social or environmental purpose. The power of this model is financial sustainability; rather than relying on a continual campaign for more donations or government funding, the enterprise generates profits that can be reinvested to further your mission. The same rules apply that you must generate genuine value and find a way to monetise it. Then the more you grow the enterprise, the more positive impact you can have.

2. Manage your money like a millionaire

A client going through career change once said to me, ‘I wish I could just have a million pounds sitting in my account so I didn’t have to think about money any more’. The problem is that even if you had a million pounds, if you spent a million and a half you’d still be broke (as many lottery winners have found out). There is never a point when you don’t have to think about money and manage it well. Learn the habit now. You’re unlikely to reach that million without it. There are now some excellent books and courses that make the whole topic, believe it or not, fun!

Start your play fund

One good discipline is to split your income and allocate it to different accounts for different purposes. Put aside a percentage for long-term saving. You might also choose to give 5–10 per cent to a charity or cause of your choice. You then have the pleasure of knowing that as your income increases, so does your contribution. And don’t forget money for fun. Put aside 10 per cent for your play fund. This is a savings fund for your play project and for anything else that feels fun and playful. Use your play fund to save up for a significant purchase for your play project: a good quality photo printer, a music software package, or a course to further your latest interest. Also use your play fund to treat yourself occasionally: pay for a fancy night out or other treat whenever you hit a release date for a project. It’s a kind thing to do for yourself and primes your subconscious to know there is a payoff when you’ve gone all out to get a project done.

When I had my first article published in a national newspaper, I took the whole payment out of the bank as cash and blew it on what was then the very latest portable music player. It seemed extravagant at the time but I ended up carrying it with me everywhere. And every time I looked at it, I remembered that it was my own creativity and initiative that had paid for it.

Is all this talk of spending money on indulging yourself pressing your buttons yet? Good. Read on.

3. Remove your internal blocks to getting rich

Have you noticed how some people always seem to have money throughout their lives and other people with similar talents and opportunities are always broke? Where are you on this scale? What’s your pattern? Have you always struggled? Or always managed to just get by? Or have you usually done well for yourself?

If money has often been a problem for you, or if you’re doing OK but can’t see how to do much better, it may be because you have some negative beliefs about money and what it would mean to be rich. If you think selling is tacky, marketing is conning people, rich people are all selfish, or charging a good price is ripping people off, it will be very difficult to get paid well for what you do.

I worked with a client once who had never earned very much money despite having a lot of talent, some great ideas and a certain level of fame. Sitting in my garden, I asked her, ‘What do you think of rich people?’ She burst out laughing and had to admit she immediately thought of all the worst possible icons of wealth: the selfish cigar-smoking tycoon, the entrepreneur that tramples on everyone else to get ahead. The problem with this is that it’s very difficult to become something you despise. I asked her instead to think of three financially successful people that she actually respected. It took her a while but she came up with three great role models. I set her the homework to find images of these people on the web, print them out and place them somewhere she’ll see them when she’s working. This is a great exercise for anyone to do. Who would your three people be? Think of them as your virtual mentors.

Our beliefs and habits around money have a huge amount of influence on where we sit on the financial scale. If you pride yourself on not being concerned about money, you probably won’t have any. Remember that money makes play sustainable; there are no prizes for being a starving artist or entrepreneur. If you feel comfortable earning a modest income and then start to earn more, you might subconsciously sabotage yourself to bring yourself back to what feels normal. And what feels normal is strongly influenced by your social group.

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur, author and speaker

Here’s a little experiment. Add up the income of the five people you spend the most time with. Divide it by five to get the average. It’s typical to find that your income is pretty close to this number. We saw in Secret four ‘How to guarantee your success’ how we are hypnotised by the thoughts, habits and beliefs we are surrounded by every day so it’s not surprising that our closest friends will have an influence on our mindset and our expectations of life.

Imagine you spend all your time with people who earn half what you do. Your current income might start to feel pretty rich. In fact you might begin to feel a bit uncomfortable around your friends, even a little guilty. Now imagine you are transported to another social circle where you spend all your time with people who earn at least twice what you currently do. You might start to feel a little embarrassed about your income and start to wonder if you could use some of the techniques your peers have used to get where they are. Can you see how these two very different experiences might influence your financial expectations and even your actions regarding money?

People who have created unusual levels of wealth of their own have different strategies and habits from ours; these are bound to rub off on you over time. If you are serious about getting paid to play – and paid well – think about augmenting your social circle with some people who share your new values and might encourage some different approaches to wealth.

4. Dare to charge what you’re worth

It’s impossible to get rich if you’re not willing to charge well for (or otherwise monetise) the value you provide. Negotiating compensation for your work can be challenging, particularly if what you’re selling is your own expertise or your artistic output. If you have a habit of undercharging for what you do, take a tip from Pablo Picasso.

Remember that our value to others is based on all that we bring – our natural talents, the skills we have developed and the experiences we have sought out. Think of everything you have invested in yourself and your business. Take out your playbook and add it all up – the training, the workshops, the costs of setting up your business. Include anything that you know you draw upon in your work. This is not just formal training; if your round-the-world trip taught you a heap of stuff about people, budgeting and organisation, put it on the list. Add a figure for all the years you lived on less than you would have liked because you were building something new. Now, does what you’re currently charging reflect this value? If not, start to think how you can charge according to the value you provide, not just the time you put in. You might find you attract better clients or customers; undervaluing yourself tends to attract clients who undervalue you. Being too cheap sometimes puts good people off you altogether.

Would you like to get rich quick?

To get paid to play, you need to know how to play with capitalism. Capitalism may have its problems but for the time being it’s here to stay so you might as well make friends with it. Interacting with your market is part of the game of being a player.

One of the fundamental models that underpins a free market is that of ‘supply and demand’. I’m sure you’ve heard of it and yet many of us seem to forget all about it when it comes to earning a living off our own back.

What it means for you is that two things contribute to making more money from your playing: a smaller number of people who can supply what you do, or a larger number of people with a demand for it. Choosing your projects to increase either side of this equation will bring you a better return: provide something in short supply and choose things in great or rising demand.

Supply and demand also explains why there is no real way to get rich quickly. If there were an easy way to do something valuable and make you money, lots of people would rush to do it. Once that happened, the product would no longer be valuable because there would be an oversupply. When it was first realised that you could make money by putting adverts on Google for other people’s products and getting paid commission, many people rushed to do it. As a result, the price for the ads went up, the market was flooded and it became much more difficult to make money. It is still possible (I do it) but it takes time to develop the skill to rise above the competition.

The exception to this rule is that there are occasionally critical moments in every industry when opportunities open up. Regulation changes, new technology appears or a market reaches a tipping point. If you are ready to seize these moments when they appear, you can make money very quickly. To take advantage early before the bandwagon begins, you need to already be operating in that area and have the expertise to recognise the opportunity and make use of it. By the time you see someone writing a book or running a workshop on how to make a quick buck from a new opportunity, you can be sure that the market will be far more competitive. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go near it. If getting into this area would be fun for you, your enthusiasm should support you in developing the skills you’ll need to stand out from the ‘me toos’. And whenever you’re out there playing with a project, always keep an eye open for the moments when good opportunities appear.

How to get (a little more) rich quick

There may be no easy formula to become a millionaire overnight, but there are some simple ways to make yourself a little richer right away. Charge more for what you do by following my P.R.I.C.E. strategy. Some of my clients have more than doubled their prices using this system.

P is for Product

Sell the right thing. The right thing is what there is great demand for, particularly something that solves a significant problem for people. Generally speaking, the bigger the problem you solve and the more people that have it, the more money you can make. You can also quickly increase what you typically make from each customer by bundling products and services into a package.

If you have specialist skills you enjoy using, this can help tip supply and demand in your favour. Invest in getting really good at what you do. When you find something you enjoy doing and have good skills for, don’t be afraid to specialise in it. Then it’s easier for people to understand what you offer and spread the word. Imagine you had lower back pain: who would you try first, a normal osteopath or a specialist ‘Lower Back Pain Clinic’ if there were such a thing near you?

R is for the Right people

You can have the best product in the world but if the market you’re approaching can’t afford it, you won’t make much money. Corporations, for example, can afford to pay much more than the general public for what you offer because what you do might benefit many staff or customers and the cost is spread across the whole business. If what you’re offering is too expensive for your ideal client, find a different way to deliver it that makes it cheaper but allows you to provide it to more people. Can you provide some of your value over the internet using the strategies in Secret seven?

I is for Increasing trust

It’s much easier to sell what you offer if you can build trust and reduce the perceived risk for the buyer. Focus on creating a good track record and communicate it by encouraging word of mouth and using what’s referred to as ‘social proof’ such as testimonials and case studies.

A guarantee can dramatically reduce the perceived risk for your buyers. Offering a no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee on your product or service often makes far more in additional sales than what you might lose from the odd person taking advantage of it.

C is for Communicating value

Learn how to effectively communicate the value of what you do and stand by it. Don’t apologise for charging a high price. Draw people in by identifying the problem you solve, then explain the benefits they will get and how much better their situation will be after they have used you or your product. If you’re selling your expertise, price yourself on results not on time. I once charged over a thousand pounds for a one-hour phone call and had no complaints because I was sharing my specialist expertise on a critical decision.

E is for Expect it and ask for it!

The biggest reason I have managed to get paid so well for many of the things I have done, whether it’s doubling my contract rate or getting £1,300 for my first magazine article, is that I simply dared to ask. It helps here to be clear on why you want it and deserve it. If you’re worried you’ll lose customers by putting up prices, try the new higher price on a special product or just on new customers. If you’re good, you might be surprised just what people are willing to pay. And if it encourages you to raise the quality of your work even further, that’s no bad thing.

If you’re worried you’ll price yourself out of your market, look for someone else that is charging a good price in your field. How do they do it? What can you use from them? Often the answer is to redefine yourself so that you are no longer compared with lower-priced competitors. If you’re a web designer that also knows a lot about branding, relaunch as a brand designer and shake off the run-of-the-mill web design competition.

What to do when someone says ‘I can’t afford it’

You may find this hard to believe but it’s never about the money. If someone says ‘I can’t afford it’ what they mean is ‘I can’t see the value yet’. As long as you’re selling to the right person then you simply haven’t communicated the value well enough yet.

Would you have paid £5,000 for this book? Probably not. What if the book was the only copy specially written by Richard Branson and contained his secret guaranteed formula to make you a millionaire in 12 months? Perhaps you would – even if you had to sell your car to get it! It’s not the price that’s the problem.

Ultimately, if you’ve effectively communicated how you can solve someone’s problem and they’re still not going to buy, there is nothing you can do. Just move on to the next person. Some people will never spend the extra for good quality.

5. Choose a rich strategy

Remember, the best way to make a living is to provide genuine value to the world. If you’re doing this then getting rich will mean providing more value to more people. If you want to make a million you have to provide a million of value. When you get there, you will have benefited others as much as yourself. I get annoyed when I see people providing great value to a tiny number of people but failing to ever expand their reach. They have never created a strategy to scale up or have never dared to play the fame game and get noticed. This is everyone’s loss.

As we’ve seen earlier, it’s difficult to get really rich selling your time or making your own handmade products: there are only so many hours in the day. Ultimately you need something that can scale beyond what you can do on your own. You need a business. Your role then moves from working in delivering the product or service to working on your business.

To get really rich, solve hard problems. That’s what Google did – they entered a crowded marketplace and produced a far superior version of a search engine. Now as Microsoft snap at their heels with their Bing search engine, Google are interested in an even harder problem – they are looking at the real meaning in information so that one day soon you will be able to ask Google ‘What should I do today?’

What difficult problem do you feel strongly about and would enjoy playing with? What might engage your interest long enough to make a real impact on it? Making a success of it is likely to take you some considerable time and effort, so choosing something that you’ll enjoy along the way is essential.

If you’re already doing well in your current business ask yourself, ‘How can I provide this value to a lot more people?’ Is there a way you can take what you provide personally and make it available to many more people on the internet, or by training others in your techniques, or by doing a deal with a larger company?

Collaborate with others to help you scale. Once you can offer something people really want without having to deliver it yourself, look for connections with others that can quickly multiply your business. Just one good retailer or agent or marketer can transform the money you’re making by supplying what you do to a whole new market. And if you follow the process laid out so far in the book they might come and find you before you even go looking!

Start crafting your rich strategy today. Learn from the stories of others in your field to find out how they scaled up to create a business out of their first experiments. If you’re determined enough, you can join them in playing your way to your own version of the rich life.